People tend to remember their early school years with fondness. They yearn for the “simpler times” they left behind, recalling happy memories of recess and gym class and friendship. While I enjoyed many aspects of my earlier schooling, there were certain aspects of it which I found far less pleasant: The lack of academic challenges and difficulty connecting with my peers. This stage in my education would have some profound effects on my career as a student.
I started my academic life at a bit of an advantage. Having a brother who was 3 years older than me, I was often exposed to information which was advanced for my age. As an infant, I would observe my brother being taught his letters and numbers by my mother and so, by the age of two, I could easily recite the alphabet and identify simple numbers. At the age of three, I started my first year of preschool. I didn’t enjoy it very much. Because much of the curriculum was centered around teaching kids the alphabet and numbers, I found the class unbearably boring. I would quickly and half-heartedly scribble on my assignments - simple things, like coloring in a big letter “A” - then flip over the paper and draw pictures of cats or insects; anything that would help pass the time.
After two years of preschool, I started Kindergarden at Andrew Muller Primary School, and the situation was not much different. When the class was being taught how to spell simple words, I already knew how to read. When we were learning addition, I knew subtraction. This trend continued for much of my early schooling. It was only once I reached middle school that I finally felt challenged by the honors curriculum. However, by this time I had already grown to think of school as a boring place.
While I may not have felt challenged academically, there certainly was one aspect of the public school experience that I struggled with: The social aspect. I had always been shy as a child. When I met strangers as an infant, I would hide myself behind my mother, seldom speaking, even when directly spoken too. This made school, an environment where I was constantly surrounded by unfamiliar faces without even the comfort of my mother’s presence, an intimidating place to me when I was younger. I was always very withdrawn. I preferred to play alone rather than with other children, and when I did seek out their attention, I was often ignored, my weak voice smothered by their hearty laughter. The fact that my self-perceived “intelligence” had given me a bit of an ego was no help either. I was a bit of a braggart, which, quite understandably, frustrated my peers. Who would want to play with a self-centered girl who preferred playing with bugs over other children anyway? The isolation, self-imposed or not, began to give the word “school” a negative connotation in my mind.
Things got tougher once I entered the 6th grade, or as I call it, “the year where you find out just how many people want nothing to do with you.” 6th grade marked my entry into middle school, where the days were for the first time divided into periods. Instead of spending the year in one classroom with one group of kids, where everybody knew each other and at least tolerated each other, the day contained 9 periods; nine separate classes where it was common for students to not know or interact with every member of a given class anymore. Without the forced “friendships” that the one-classroom environment had created, I faded into the background. My once over-inflated ego was now practically non-existent. I hid in the back of my classes, taking comfort only in the few good friends I had and the smiling feline faces scribbled in my notebooks. The whole experience was truly humbling, which I’m actually quite grateful for. Without my once egocentric views, I became a much better listener, more open to criticism, and a much more critical thinker (thanks to all the thinking I did in my spare time), skills which have benefited me greatly in my career as a student.
However, more so than my peers, some of my teachers I encountered during my earlier school years would have major impacts on how I approach life and learning. I had some wonderful teachers, especially during my middle school years. Two of them in particular stand out in my memory: Mrs. Medina, my 6th grade Spanish teacher, and Mr. Schneider, my 6th and 7th grade health teacher. Mrs. Medina taught me during my first year of Spanish, and was always very engaging in class. She was energetic and kind, and was successful (at least to me) at making a class centered around memorization fun. My admiration towards her pushed me to study more, and helped me develop my studying/memorization skills.
Because of her kind, caring personality, I came to really trust Mrs. Medina as someone I could talk to when I had a school related, or sometimes even personal, problem. This is also true for Mr. Schneider. He always made it abundantly clear to the class that he was there to help us. He proved this when I was in 7th grade. A couple of boys were constantly verbally harassing my friend and I in the hallway, so we went to Mr. Schneider for help. He assured us that he would talk to the boys for us, and within a few days the bullying had completely ceased. This experience proved to me that teachers are there to help, and that there was nothing wrong with asking questions or asking for help, something I was usually somewhat timid about.
While some of my early schooling experiences were unpleasant, I believe that they helped me become a better person in the end. They taught me to be modest and to try and see things from another person’s perspective. I was able to improve my critical thinking, listening, and studying skills, and I began to get over my fear of asking questions or seeking help when I needed it. While some of my negative experiences caused me to dislike school, I would eventually use that dislike as a motivator to work hard so I could graduate with good grades and go off to college someday.
I started my academic life at a bit of an advantage. Having a brother who was 3 years older than me, I was often exposed to information which was advanced for my age. As an infant, I would observe my brother being taught his letters and numbers by my mother and so, by the age of two, I could easily recite the alphabet and identify simple numbers. At the age of three, I started my first year of preschool. I didn’t enjoy it very much. Because much of the curriculum was centered around teaching kids the alphabet and numbers, I found the class unbearably boring. I would quickly and half-heartedly scribble on my assignments - simple things, like coloring in a big letter “A” - then flip over the paper and draw pictures of cats or insects; anything that would help pass the time.
After two years of preschool, I started Kindergarden at Andrew Muller Primary School, and the situation was not much different. When the class was being taught how to spell simple words, I already knew how to read. When we were learning addition, I knew subtraction. This trend continued for much of my early schooling. It was only once I reached middle school that I finally felt challenged by the honors curriculum. However, by this time I had already grown to think of school as a boring place.
While I may not have felt challenged academically, there certainly was one aspect of the public school experience that I struggled with: The social aspect. I had always been shy as a child. When I met strangers as an infant, I would hide myself behind my mother, seldom speaking, even when directly spoken too. This made school, an environment where I was constantly surrounded by unfamiliar faces without even the comfort of my mother’s presence, an intimidating place to me when I was younger. I was always very withdrawn. I preferred to play alone rather than with other children, and when I did seek out their attention, I was often ignored, my weak voice smothered by their hearty laughter. The fact that my self-perceived “intelligence” had given me a bit of an ego was no help either. I was a bit of a braggart, which, quite understandably, frustrated my peers. Who would want to play with a self-centered girl who preferred playing with bugs over other children anyway? The isolation, self-imposed or not, began to give the word “school” a negative connotation in my mind.
Things got tougher once I entered the 6th grade, or as I call it, “the year where you find out just how many people want nothing to do with you.” 6th grade marked my entry into middle school, where the days were for the first time divided into periods. Instead of spending the year in one classroom with one group of kids, where everybody knew each other and at least tolerated each other, the day contained 9 periods; nine separate classes where it was common for students to not know or interact with every member of a given class anymore. Without the forced “friendships” that the one-classroom environment had created, I faded into the background. My once over-inflated ego was now practically non-existent. I hid in the back of my classes, taking comfort only in the few good friends I had and the smiling feline faces scribbled in my notebooks. The whole experience was truly humbling, which I’m actually quite grateful for. Without my once egocentric views, I became a much better listener, more open to criticism, and a much more critical thinker (thanks to all the thinking I did in my spare time), skills which have benefited me greatly in my career as a student.
However, more so than my peers, some of my teachers I encountered during my earlier school years would have major impacts on how I approach life and learning. I had some wonderful teachers, especially during my middle school years. Two of them in particular stand out in my memory: Mrs. Medina, my 6th grade Spanish teacher, and Mr. Schneider, my 6th and 7th grade health teacher. Mrs. Medina taught me during my first year of Spanish, and was always very engaging in class. She was energetic and kind, and was successful (at least to me) at making a class centered around memorization fun. My admiration towards her pushed me to study more, and helped me develop my studying/memorization skills.
Because of her kind, caring personality, I came to really trust Mrs. Medina as someone I could talk to when I had a school related, or sometimes even personal, problem. This is also true for Mr. Schneider. He always made it abundantly clear to the class that he was there to help us. He proved this when I was in 7th grade. A couple of boys were constantly verbally harassing my friend and I in the hallway, so we went to Mr. Schneider for help. He assured us that he would talk to the boys for us, and within a few days the bullying had completely ceased. This experience proved to me that teachers are there to help, and that there was nothing wrong with asking questions or asking for help, something I was usually somewhat timid about.
While some of my early schooling experiences were unpleasant, I believe that they helped me become a better person in the end. They taught me to be modest and to try and see things from another person’s perspective. I was able to improve my critical thinking, listening, and studying skills, and I began to get over my fear of asking questions or seeking help when I needed it. While some of my negative experiences caused me to dislike school, I would eventually use that dislike as a motivator to work hard so I could graduate with good grades and go off to college someday.